"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

The extraordinary world of early modern ship surgeons

Imagine that you just are facing a violent battle with an enemy ship at sea. An experienced surgeon of the Seventeenth century John Moyle Ask your reader to do the identical. In his printed guide to advisable practice, readers were forced to place themselves within the shoes of a ship's surgeon within the thick of battle: “You have brought down another wounded man, with a musket shot. It had penetrated into the fat of his loins, and lodged there, and the great vessel was wounded, and was bleeding miserably.”

In the sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries, for sailors who suffered injury, accident or illness at sea, the ship's surgeon was the one skilled medical help. And yet we all know relatively little concerning the experiences and lives of shipboard surgeons.

My research Explores texts written by British ship surgeons to achieve a deeper understanding of medical care at sea, and the emotional and psychological challenges of shipboard life for surgeons and crew.

By the Seventeenth century, surgeons were a daily presence on English merchant and naval ships. It was an era of improved ship technology, maritime exploration and rapidly developing global trade and exploitation.

A surgeon was essential for the perilous long-distance trade voyages lasting weeks, even months, across India and the Atlantic Ocean. The Royal Navy grew substantially during a series of major wars from the mid-Seventeenth century – and with it the medical needs of the ships.

The ship's surgeons had a heavy responsibility. Along with treating illnesses and injuries, they stocked medicine chests (which contained surgical tools and medicines), made their very own cures, and were often accountable for cleansing the ship. Surgeons were trained through apprenticeship, either on ships or ashore.

A line engraving of John Woodall by G. Glover, 1639.
Iconographic Collections/Welcome Images

In his famous printed guide to medicine chests and the preparation of medical care at sea, Surgeon John Woodall Recommends that trainee ship surgeons closely observe signs of disease in crew, gain clinical experience, and “read a lot” on surgery and medicine. Both practical and theoretical knowledge were essential.

Ships at sea were a difficult working environment for crews and their surgeons. Accidents were frequent, especially in wet and windy conditions. Ships fell from masts, slipped on deck and were injured by marine equipment. Henry Watson, a ship's surgeon aboard the British battleship HMS Tiger within the Mediterranean, recounted how Thomas Storey, an unlucky crew member, fell from the front over the deck and fractured his skull. i Its logWatson adds a gruesome description of the story's brain matter to “flying on deck” effects.

As well because the very real risks of great injury, diseases comparable to typhus, dysentery and malaria spread rapidly within the confined and poorly ventilated space of a ship – especially in hot climates. Food was limited and fresh fruit and veggies were lacking. Scurvy (on account of vitamin C deficiency) was a significant issue on long-distance travel.

Scottish ship surgeon William Ferguson Wrote of scurvy victims who were unable to walk, “so weak and out of breath”, with rotten gums and “yellow swellings on their joints”. John Woodall Recommended The use of citrus fruits to combat the “deplorable disease” of scurvy – although this recommendation was not widely adopted by the Royal Navy until the late 18th century.

An oil painting depicting a naval battle in the 17th century.
A February 1674 photograph of the HMS Tiger taking the Shackerloo within the harbor of Cadiz, Spain.
Daniel Schilnicks/

Hilarious

Writing on the merchant ships Peregrine and Phoenix in his mid-Seventeenth medical journal, the ship's surgeon John Connie Recorded his each day interactions with staff. Connie applied medicated bandages and administered reassurance and medicine. Importantly, it cleansed the diseased body – sailors were treated by opening veins with blades and vomiting and sweating.

It could seem strange to us, but within the Seventeenth century the human body was considered four “humors” (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile). Bleeding and purging “balanced” the humors and rid the body of so-called corrupt humors, which were considered the reason behind disease. Surgery, like amputation, was very dangerous in the times before antibiotics, antiseptics, and anesthetics, and was done only as a final resort.

Woodall advisable that surgery needs to be performed only on the patient's “own will and request”, and that the sailor should prepare his soul for death. It was not a straightforward task to operate on a repeatedly moving ship. Surgeons needed to regular their hands against the unpredictable impact of the ship, often working in cramped and unsafe spaces by the dim light of lanterns as waves crashed around them.

Woodall's advisable instruments for the marine surgeon's chest.
The Surgeon's Mate or Military and Domestic Surgery, John Woodall/Wellcome Collection.

Psychological distress

The challenges and dangers of life at sea weren’t only physical but additionally psychological. Ships may be claustrophobic with little privacy or personal freedom. Months at sea, with no sight of land, were exasperating. The war was emotionally taxing. The storms were terrible.

The writings of ships' surgeons give us access to a few of these emotional experiences and mental health challenges. Moyle described states of psychological distress wherein bewildered sailors saw the ocean as “a meadow, and would try to get into it”. This will often end in tragedy.

By riding on Blackham GalleySurgeon John Locker recorded the collective terror of the crew as they endured “stormy weather and gales of wind, mountains high in the sea”. They were “expecting every hour to be lost”.

The manual nature of the surgeon's craft, and its contact with diseased bodies, reduced its social status in pre-modern society. Unfavorable comparisons were made between surgeons and butchers – each carving bodies and handling meat. Unlike university-educated doctors, surgeons were also portrayed as ignorant.

My research showed that the fact was more complex. Ships' surgeons have considerable skill and experience, can pay attention to the risks of surgery, and have access to the newest medical knowledge.

Accounts from ships' surgeons add to our understanding of medical care at sea during a time of unprecedented naval activity and expansion. His writings also provide a captivating insight into the on a regular basis experiences and challenges of early modern shipboard society.